Garment hanger



W. C. LYMAN GARMENT HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1938 Aug. 22,1939. w. c. LYMAN 2,170,479

' GARMENT HANGER I Filed Oct. 24, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS PatentedAug. 22, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in garment hangers of the generaltype having a bar to extend under the shoulders or shoulder straps ofdresses, slips and the like, and it aims to provide new and improvedmeans whereby a garment may be securely held against slipping from thehanger and may be held in such orderly fashion as to prevent distortionaround the neck or collar portion.

Another object is to provide the improvement in the form of a novelattachment for the conventional garment hanger.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subjectmatter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplishedby reference to the accompanying drawings.

V Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing one form of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan of Fig. 1, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the garment holding means of Fig. 1,detached from the hanger.

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical sectional view, on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a different form of the inventiondetached from the hanger.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view on line 66 'of Fig. 5 showing thedevice attached to the hanger.

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing a still further form of the invention.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, [0 denotes aconventional longitudinally arched garment-supporting bar having acentral suspending hook II. In parallel slightly spaced relation withone vertical side face I2 of the bar In, is a metal plate l3 to theinner side of which two garment-holding spring arms I 4 are (pivoted forvertical swinging, the pivotal connections being preferably formed bytubular rivets I5 in order that other rivets or the like 16 may passthrough, them in order to secure the plates I3 to the bar Ill. However,it is of course possible to provide a construction in which one rivetwould pivot each arm to the plate l3 and also connect plate and arm withthe bar Ill. The plate I3 occupies a position at the central portion ofthe bar In and the spring arms 14 are swingable to substantiallyhorizontal operative positions to effectively hold a garment against theside ll of said bar l0, said arms, however, when not in use, beingswingable to upstanding positions adjacent the hook H, as dotted inFig. 1. When these arms are swung downwardly to their operativepositions, their movement is limited by a lateral flange ll on the loweredge of the plate I3, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

The arms I 4, of course, exert sufficient pressure upon the garment tohold it properly in upon the garment when said arms are being G swung toand from operative positions, said arms may be readily sprung outwardlysufliciently to clear the garment.

In Figs. 5 and 6, the arms M may be considered as identical with thearms M. For mounting these arms upon the hanger, however, a metal plateis bent into channel form to provide two parallel side plates I9 and 20and a transverse portion 2| connecting the lower edges of said sideplates, providing a structure which may straddle the hanger. A set screw22 is threaded through the plate 20 to abut the hanger and clamp ittightly against the plate [9, and the arms Hi are pivoted to the innersides of said plate 20 as shown at l 5 the pivots being preferably butnot necessarily in the form'of tubular rivets. The plate connectingportion 2| of the channeled member is preferably formed with a smallopening 23 to receive the usual upset lower end of the hook H.Obviously, the arms I4 are swingable to and from operative positions andwhen they are swung downwardly to positions for use, they strike theportion 2| which may be considered as a flange on the plate 20corresponding to the flange I! on the plate l3.

In Fig. '7, the ends of the curved hanger bar I2 are connectedv by a bar24 to support a skirt 25 or other article of apparel. Verticallyswingable spring arms M corresponding to the arms l4, are associatedwith both bars l2 and 24, and

said spring arms may be mounted in any suitable way. For illustrativepurposes, each arm is shown pivoted at l5 to a small plate somewhatsimilar to the plate l3, but obviously clamps could be employed toattach any or all of said spring arms. Moreover, insofar as the armsassociated with the bar l2 are concerned, they need not have separatemounting means, but could be mounted by means of a plate such as l3above described, or a clamp such as that shown in Figs. 5 and 6. It willalso be understood that the mounting means for the arms associated withthe bar 24, could be in the form of clamps.

By providing the novel construction shown and described or a substantialequivalent thereof, simple, inexpensive and efficient provision has beenmade for carrying out the objects of the invention. Garments may be hungclose together, since the spring arms and their mounting means lie fiatagainst one vertical side of the hanger bar. There were no appreciableprojections to catch upon or wear the garments sus pended upon adjacenthangers. Then too, little space is required between hangers if a garmentis to be removed from one without taking it from its supporting means,and the garment can be returned to the hanger and the arms adjustedwithout interfering with other garments. There is nothing to get out oforder due to the extreme simplicity of construction, and objectionablecorrosion may, of course, be avoided by proper selection of materials,by enameling, or in any other preferred way. Stainless spring steel ispreferred for the spring arms, but obviously is not essential. Shouldthe pads for any reason fail to make proper contact with the garments, aslight bending of the spring arms over the top edge of the hanger whilethe arms are in raised position, will overcome the difiiculty. Anotheradvantage is that the swingable arms: and their attaching means do notinterfere at all with placing a garment on the hanger or removing itvsince the arms may be swung upwardly close to the supporting hook in thecenter of the hanger, in which position, they are entirely out of theway, making it as easy to adjust the garment as if upon an ordinaryhanger.

Excellent results. are obtainable from the details disclosed and theymay be followed if desired. However, within the scope of the inventionas. claimed, numerous variations may, of course, be made.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a garment supporting bar having a vertical sideface; a spring arm disposed at said vertical side face and tensionedhorizontally toward said side face to hold a. garment against the same,and a transverse hori zontal pivot mounting said spring arm on said barand permitting swinging of said arm in a plane at right angles to thedirection in which said arm is biased by its tension.

2. In combination with a garment hanger having an arched garmentsupporting bar and a central suspending hook connected with said bar,said bar having a vertical side face; two spring arms disposed at andextending longitudinally of said vertical side face, said spring armsbeing tensioned horizontally toward said vertical side face to hold agarment against the same, and transverse horizontal pivot means passingthrough the inner ends of said arms and mounting the latter on said bar,said pivot means permitting swinging of said arms in a plane at rightangles to the direction in which said arms are biased by their tension,whereby said arms may be upwardly swung to idle positions adjacent saidhook.

3. In combination with a garment supporting bar having a vertical sideface; a spring arm at said vertical side face, a flat vertical platelying against the outer side of said spring arm: at one end thereof,said plate being secured to said bar, and a pivot connecting said springarm with said plate to allow swinging of said arm to and from asubstantially horizontal operative position, one edge of said platebeing provided with a flange to limit the movement of said arm to saidoperative position, said arm being adapted to hold a garment againstsaid vertical side face of said bar and being manually yieldable awayfrom said face to prevent dragging upon the garment during swinging toand from. said operative positions.

4. An attachment for a garment hanger comprising a vertical plate to lieat one vertical side of the hanger, a garment-holding spring arm havingone of its ends pivoted against said plate to swing vertically to andfrom a substantially horizontal operative position, one edge of saidplate being provided with a flange to limit the swinging of said arm. tosaid operative position, and means for securing said plate to thehanger.

5. An attachment for a garment hanger comprising a plate bent intochannel form: to provide two parallel side plates to straddle a garmenthanger and a transverse portion connecting said side plates, a set screwthreaded through one of said side plates to abut the hanger and clamp itagainst the other of said side plates, and a garment-holding spring armhaving one of its ends. pivoted against the inner side of said one sideplate to swing vertically to and from a substantially horizontaloperative position, said transverse portion of the channel serving tolimit the movement of said arm to said operative position.

6. In combination with a garment supporting bar having a vertical sideface; a spring arm disposed at said vertical side face and tensionedhorizontally toward said side face to hold a garment against the same, aclamp secured on said bar, and a transverse horizontal pivot connectingsaid spring arm with said clamp and permitting swinging of said arm in aplane at right angles to the direction in which said arm is biased byits. tension.

WINNIFRED C LYMAN.

